Archive for September, 2006

The Best Sex

Published
by
Mike
on September 17, 2006
in marriage
. 33 Comments

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post . . . and while appreciating all that trained people like Joe are instructing . . . let me repeat what I’ve said many times (which I’m quite certain that these teachers would agree with).

The best sex doesn’t come as a result of things you buy or positions you learn.

It comes from years of commitment, shared prayer, common tears, loving-and-often-tiring parenting, gentleness, faith, hope, love, endless forgiveness, kisses with potential and kisses that are just because, full-bodied hugs and hugs-on-the-run, “come hither” looks and “you’re-an-idiot-sometimes-but-you’re-still-my-idiot” looks, good days and bad days, inside jokes, and repentance.

Why does sex get better in many marriages — even as bodies age?

Because trust has been forged; maturity has set in; and passion goes all the way to the marrow.

Consideration and faithfulness: the true sexual stimulants.

Not Your Father’s Today Show

Published
by
Mike
on September 16, 2006
in General and marriage
. 61 Comments

This morning wasn’t your average Weekend Today Show. Even Lester and Campbell were blushing. Lester said that language that frank wasn’t often spoken on their show.

So who was this guest?

Our buddy Joe Beam. Talking about oral sex, multiple orgasms, fantasies, alcohol consumption, masturbation, etc.

Here’s what I loved: Joe came across as a kind man who is on a mission and who is full of grace. When asked which “couples” are his target audience, he just said married couples — husbands and wives. When asked if there are any limits, he named them kindly and succinctly: (1) only with your spouse, (2) no animals, and (3) nothing that hurts either person. (I’m naive enough to wonder if he couldn’t have boiled it down to rules 1 and 3, assuming number 2. But he talks to more people about sex than I do. . . .) When asked about alcohol, he said that drinking in moderation is fine, but drunkenness is wrong. He spoke with a gleam in his eyes about couples needing to remove some of the inhibitions (or quit feeling bad about things they’re already doing) and to have fun.

On national television. A Church of Christ preacher.

The world is changing.

Old People at Church

Published
by
Mike
on September 16, 2006
in Church and General
. 9 Comments

I’m so thankful that I get to be in a faith community with so many godly older people.

I like these words from William Sloane Coffin: “I’ve noticed that the older, the more gnarled the cherry tree, the greater the profusions of blossoms. And sometimes the oldest and dustiest bottles hold the most sparkling wine. I’m drawn by faces lined with crow’s feet, those ‘credentials of humanity,’ beautifully lit from within.”

I was showing Chris some of the basics of Photoshop Elements. I played with a picture of Diane and me for a while and then called him in to spot the changes (including someone in the background I got rid of). In one of them, I used the “soft brush” feature to get rid of a couple wrinkles in my forehead. When he noticed, he insisted he didn’t like it. He preferred the shot with the wrinkles.

And really, so did I.

As Jimmy Buffett put it: “Wrinkles only go where the smiles have been.”

Reasons Torture Is Always Wrong

Published
by
Mike
on September 15, 2006
in General
. 125 Comments

David Gushee’s article entitled “5 Reasons Torture Is Always Wrong” in Christianity Today is just excellent. He includes these insightful words from Senator McCain, who remains a voice of sanity in this divided country: “This isn’t about who they are. This is about who we are. These are the values that distinguish us from our enemies.”

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Hope to see some of you in the next few days. I’m teaching a lectureship class at 9:45 — it’s one of 25 classes offered at that time. That’s quite a few!

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Who actually watches infomercials and buys the products, making them worthwhile to the companies? Seriously.

Who responds to junk mail so that it continues to be profitable enough to send?

Who is buying all those zillions of viagra pills in response to spam?

Who is buying stuff in response to marketing calls so that it pays off?

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Wish we hadn’t eaten spinach out of a bag last night. Why do those health warnings always come out the morning AFTER you’ve had what they’re warning you about.

Last Minute Phone Calls

Published
by
Mike
on September 14, 2006
in General
. 19 Comments

For the past few days, as we’ve remember the tragedy of 9/11 five years later, I’ve been moved again by all the calls made to loved ones — some from jets and some from the twin towers.

They were good-bye calls to make sure that people knew they were loved.

And again it makes me ask myself: Am I holding anything back? Is there something I’d say if I had just a couple minutes to live that I’m not saying now?

Why would we hold back? There are no guarantees in life. I might live another three decades; I might not live through 9-14-06.

How about you? Are there words you need to speak to your parents? kids? spouse? friends? enemies?

Maybe this is the time to say them.

The Wild-Man Ezekiel

Published
by
Mike
on September 13, 2006
in General and scripture
. 42 Comments

I’m so glad to have Don McLaughlin speaking at Highland this Sunday. Two of his sons are members, so it was a bit easier to get him. Don will be speaking Tuesday evening. It made a lot of sense to ask him to speak in this series called “The Church Has Left the Building,” because Don is one of the most intentionally missional people I’ve ever met in my life. Highland folks, trust me: you’ll love his preaching!

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There’s an interesting article in the last ACU Optimist about how a church in Abilene has started a Sunday morning service that is only for university students. (A tiny little correction was made online. The article, as it appeared in the paper, said that they were developing an “all student worship band.” It now has been corrected online to say an “all student worship team”! I knew what they meant.)

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ACU lectureship gets started in four days with Jack Reese giving the opening night address. We’re looking forward to having my parents come down from Missouri for the lectures.

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Chris’s first official 8th grade football game was last night. He played last year, but he had just been out of the wheelchair for a couple months and had just been out of the back brace for about a month. In August (2005), his orthopedic surgeon in Ft. Worth told him that he was released to play anything except football. Then he could tell Chris was disappointed.

Doc: “Did you want to play football?”
Chris: “Yes, sir.”
Doc: (Long pause.) “All right, I’ll release you for football, too.”
Diane: “Excuse me, I have a question. Why did you say everything but football in the first place?”

Turns out some pediatric orthopedic surgeons aren’t that crazy about football anyway.

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Yesterday when I read Ezekiel I remembered how some people have said he had psychological problems. They base this on the strange behavior (we’re talking, at times, very strange), and the strong writing (sometimes ranting and sometimes, well, explicit — like chapter 23).

But he was a prophet ablaze with a passion for the holiness of God. As he spoke from Babylon (having been deported), he had to pull out all stops to remind people of the judgment of God (especially chapters 1-24) and to evoke images of the hope from God (chapters 25-48).

Welcoming the Artists

Published
by
Mike
on September 12, 2006
in Books and General
. 29 Comments

Our discussion from a couple days ago reminded me of this wonderful passage in Darryl Tippens’s Pilgrim Heart: The Way of Jesus in Everyday Life:

“The church has not always been kind to its artists. Maturing in communities that ignore or even reject their gifts, some artists, musicians, writers, and actors become discouraged and drift away. Sad to say, sometimes they find a kinder welcome in the world than they do in the church, and the church is the poorer for it. Yet in many ways artists model what it means to have a pilgrim hearat. They explore the truth through the medium in which they work. They revere the mystery of creation; they work humbly with their materials, embodying the ‘restless ache for something beyond,’ as Lewis called it. Along with the poet Czeslaw Milosz, they say: ‘In this world there is too much ugliness and horror. So there must be, somewhere, goodness and truth. And that means somewhere God must be.’ These artists not only inform our minds, they nurture our hearts, for art is more than cognition. It is divine truth recollected in color, shape, and sound. Their art, potentially, at least, becomes a path to a better world. . . .

“Emil Brunner’s reminder is important: ‘From time immemorial the relation between art and religion has been friendly rather than hostile. . . .’ The church and the arts are so deeply connected that ‘we simply cannot imagine Western Art apart from Christianity.’ ‘The sense of beauty . . . remains rooted in the heart of man as a powerful incentive,’ observed Weil. Indeed, pilgrim hearts have always understood that creation and creativity are earthly signs ever gesturing towards the Creator. Thankfully, the necessary relationship between artists and the church is undergoing a revival in our day. Artists are being invited to portray the faith of the believers, to paint the scenes, compose the songs, write the plays, and tell the stories that will shape the imaginations and the lives of the next generation.

“All who love Scripture should note the obvious: The Bible itself is a majestic work of art. Otherwise, why are the book of Job, the Psalms, and the parables of Jesus rendered in such artful form? God seems forever committed to beauty. Otherwise, the glories of heaven make no sense at all. . . . Indeed, as John’s Revelation makes clear, our eternal dwelling place is characterized by extraordinary beauty: fabulous architecture, poetry, music, song, and liturgy. Despisers of the arts will find heaven a rather odd place to spend eternity. The God who created the world in all its splendor, who placed the sensuous Song of Solomon within the canon of Scripture, and who promises a glorious new heaven and a dazzling new earth, must love beauty. Could it be that life on this earth is but a reflection of, and a preparation for, the superior, lasting beauty of the world to come?”

Maybe this is so important to me because I’ve been blessed to minister to so many artists. Perhaps it’s because most of the art students have me for Bible in the fall of their freshman year. Or could it also be that my own faith has been encouraged again and again by faith-building, thought-provoking, courage-inspiring works of theater, writing, music, painting, sculpture, etc.?

Five Years

Published
by
Mike
on September 11, 2006
in General and memories
. 73 Comments

I remember exactly where I was when word came that JFK had been shot in 1963 (I was in Mrs. Ferguson’s 2nd grade at Field Elementary School in Neosho, MO) . . . and I’ll never forget the morning of 9/11/01.

I was driving to the church building that Tuesday morning when I heard a news flash on NPR that a plane had hit the north tower of the World Trade Center. Was it a pilot error? Was it a mechanical malfunction? Or — God forbid — was it an attack? No one yet knew.

When I arrived at the office, we all gathered around the tiny black and white television whose rabbit ears picked up the Today Show. Like everyone else, we watched the tragedy unfold.

About an hour later, someone came from our Ladies’ Bible Class, asking if I’d come say a few words and pray. Several who were old enough to remember Pearl Harbor were in such deep sorrow for the world.

Now, five years later, we’re still in awe that young men could be convinced that God would be glorified by such destruction — that they would honor him by killing themselves as they murdered so many people.

Hatred is toxic. Hatred fueled by religious conviction is murderous.

Today we can again pray for Shalom — for the kingdom of God to continue breaking into this world of confusion and anger. And we commit ourselves to being people who follow the way of the kingdom.

What do you remember about that day?

I Saw Angels Fly

Published
by
Mike
on September 9, 2006
in General
. 66 Comments

Last night, around 7:30, Diane and I–along with several others–saw angels fly.

Five years ago, we heard our dear friend Jack Maxwell describe to our covenant group his dream of a sanctuary on the ACU campus centered on a sculpture of Jacob’s ladder.

Last night, after Jack had invested a tenth of his life (5 years) in this project, it came to fruition.

A monstrous crane lifted the sculpture from the trailer and moved it. No wonder it was such an emotional moment for Jill (yes, they really are Jack and Jill) — since Jack and their family had poured so much into this spiritual masterpiece.

There’s no way to describe this sanctuary to you adequately. The centerpiece is, of course, the sculpture — over 30 feet high. But all around there is a sense of God’s presence. The rocks have words blasted into them to remind you of the gospel. There is a baptistry. And the wall that encircles it gives a place where you can reflect. (From one place, you see the image of the cross through the rocks — which was part of Jack’s design.)

I’ll try to put up another shot later, but this one is from last night after the ladder was first attached.

He’s a photo from today:

Putt-Putt Christians

Published
by
Mike
on September 8, 2006
in Books, faith and spiritual formation
. 44 Comments

From Dallas Willard’s The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship:

“For at least several decades the churches of the Western world have not made discipleship a condition of being a Christian. One is not required to be, or to intend to be, a disciple in order to become a Christian, and one may remain a Christian without any signs of progress toward or in discipleship. Contemporary American churches in particular do not require following Christ in his example, spirit, and teachings as a condition of membership — either of entering into or continuing in fellowship of a denominationn or local church. I would be glad to learn of any exception to this claim, but it would only serve to highlight its general validity and make the general rule more glaring. So far as the visible Christian institutions of our day are concerned, discipleship clearly is optional.”

Cornelius Plantinga has an insightful piece in the latest CT entitled “Dr. Willard’s Diagnosis: Why We Need to Really Die Before We Can Really Live.” It’s about Dallas Willard’s “mighty project” to encourage the church to take transformation seriously, to read the Sermon on the Mount as the way he really expects us to live (modern circumstances not withstanding).

Plantinga writes:

“According to Willard, the problem is that a lot of us nod amiably at these instructions for a big Christian life in God’s kingdom. Then we ignore them . . . .

“Dr. Willard’s diagnosis: A lot of us are doing Christianity at a putt-putt level. We want to be forgiven without following Jesus.

“We’re afraid to follow Jesus, because then we’d have to die and rise with him. . . . The truth is, we’re mildly attracted to his virtues, but we’re strongly attracted to our vices. We wouldn’t like to lose them because they please us, and the prospect of a significant life with Jesus doesn’t so much. Do we expect a new Christian life will just happen without our having to make inconvenient changes in how we live Monday to Sunday? If so, we are like people who want to be solvent and who also max out their credit cards. Or people who want to be sexually pure and who also bookmark porn sites. Or people who want to speak Japanese without all the tiresome study that’s normally required. . . .

“Willard shows us how to get this life — eloquently and enduringly. He tells us that learning to enjoy God forever and to particiipate in his big project is entirely like learning competitive baseball or the violin or Italian. God has put joy inside sports, music-making, and cross-cultural conversation, but the only way to get joy out of them is to work at them. You’ve got to listen to your teacher, imitate him or her, and then practice a lot. The disciple is not greater than his master. If Jesus needed to learn obedience, so will Jesus’ disciples. We will need to train our brain, heart, hand, eye, and tongue to get us in shape for robust Christian living. Eyebrows, too, when they still have a haughty spirit. Fortunately, says Willard, the essential disciplines for Jesus’ disciples have been taught and learned for centuries, including by our Lord himself.”